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8 Scientists Who Are Changing The World

Eddie Redmayne and Stephen Hawking at the London premiere of The Theory Of Everything
Eddie Redmayne and Stephen Hawking at the London premiere of The Theory Of Everything

As Stephen Hawking biopic ‘The Theory Of Everything’ comes to cinemas, here are some of the brightest minds making Earth a better place as we speak…

Fabiola Gianotti

One of the most important particle physicists in the world.
One of the most important particle physicists in the world.

A 52-year-old Italian particle physicist, she led the ATLAS experiment at CERN, which in 2012 discovered the long-sought Higgs boson particle which provides mass to matter and was one of the primary reasons for the building of the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland. In 2016, she will take over as the director of the entire project as they push into new frontiers in experimental physics. She will be the first woman to do so.

John Rogers

The scientist at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign where he works.
The scientist at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign where he works.

Dissolvable electronic materials – that’s what this American engineer is trying to perfect, in a bid to create materials that could be integrated into biological organisms (i.e. humans) with minimal problems. The potential is huge – environmentally-friendly gadgets that protect the planet by degrading naturally and bio-medical instruments which can be used in advanced surgery or within human patients.

Aditi Shankardass

The brilliant scientist changing children's lives.
The brilliant scientist changing children's lives.

Shankardass’s area of expertise is developmental disorders in children, which she is trying to more accurately diagnose with her unique way of utilising electroencephalography (EEG) technology. Born in London, her pioneering work in the field of neuroscience is seeking to improve and transform the diagnosis and understanding of conditions like autism and dyslexia in kids.

Stephen Hawking

The physicist and cosmologist gets to do the blue carpet at the UK premiere of his biopic.
The physicist and cosmologist gets to do the blue carpet at the UK premiere of his biopic.

One of the most famous scientists ever, Hawking has been at the forefront of theoretical physics for decades. His work on black holes is ground-breaking, as is his research into gravitational singularity theory. He now promotes the need for humanity to search for a home beyond Earth and is a proponent of top-down cosmology. He continues this work as research director in his department at Cambridge University.

Craig Venter

Venter and his beloved poodle, Darwin.
Venter and his beloved poodle, Darwin.

So impressive he has a scientific institute named after him, 68-year-old J Craig Venter from Salt Lake City, Utah was one of the first to sequence the human genome in 2001, thus exponentially opening up medical advancement more than it ever had before. He has since started mapping the biodiversity of the ocean and is now focusing on creating synthetic organisms, primarily to find things that will produce alternative fuels. Not only that, but he served in Vietnam.

James Tour

James Tour shows off his latest discovery.
James Tour shows off his latest discovery.

Tour is a New York-born chemist, who is one of the world’s leading experts in nanotechnology. Working out of Rice University in Texas, his research has been used in various different fields, from medicine to so-called nanocars – a single molecule which can roll on metal surfaces (so not strictly a car with a motor, but one of the first steps towards such a thing). His most recent work includes trying to turn coal into fluorescent particles by transforming the black stuff into graphene quantum dots.

Luc Montagnier

Montagnier is one of the doctors who helped first isolate the HIV virus.
Montagnier is one of the doctors who helped first isolate the HIV virus.

The now-82-year-old Frenchman was head of the first group of virologists to isolate the HIV virus, before it was known to be what caused AIDS. He received the 2008 Nobel Prize for his research. He has since become a world-leading expert in the disease, co-founding the World Foundation for AIDS Research and Prevention. He continues to do cutting-edge research into the virus at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Tim Berners-Lee

Sir Tim is one of the reasons this web page exists.
Sir Tim is one of the reasons this web page exists.

Sir Tim was at CERN in 1989 when he came up with what we now know as the World Wide Web and rather than patent it for his own financial gain, he decided to give it to the world as a gift, thereby facilitating what we know as the modern internet. The Brit now spends most of his time campaigning for transparency and freedom online, as director of the World Wide Web Foundation and president of the Open Data Institute.